Iron Man 3 Quickie Review

As I mentioned in Friday Mad Science, Sally and I went to see Iron Man 3 last night.  It was a fun flick, don't get me wrong, but I think some of the reviews I've seen have been a little overblown to say the least.

I mean, yeah, the movie is funny and clever and often surprising, but it wasn't by far the best of the series.  In fact, I think it falls into the trap that a lot of superhero movies fall into--it doesn't really want to be a movie about a superhero.  Unlike the earlier Iron Man films, this one is much more a movie about Tony Stark, and it seems almost uncomfortable with him actually in his armor.  In that way, it's similar to Thor, where the first thing that happens is that Thor loses his hammer and essentially becomes mortal.  He then spends the entire movie trying to become who he really is, meaning that the movie itself isn't exactly about Thor, it's really a little more about a guy who wants to be Thor.

On the one hand, it's good that they found a way to make Iron Man mortal.  But then again, I kept waiting for Stark to don the armor and kick ass, but that's not really how it unfolds, even in the climax.

Anyway, I liked Iron Man 3, and I'd recommend it, but it's not by any means a better movie than either the first Iron Man or the Avengers.  It's probably about on par with Captain America--which is good, but maybe not game-changing.

Final thought: Rhodey gets to do almost nothing in this movie.  So at this point, I'm totally ready for a stint with Rhodey in the suit as Iron Man, ala the '80s West Coast Avengers.  There's a whole unexplored plot line there, trust me.